MAM
Manish Kapoor named as Pepe Jeans India MD & CEO
Mumbai: Denim retailer Pepe Jeans London has promoted Manish Kapoor as managing director in continuation of his current role of chief executive officer, India.
According to a statement, India is one of the most crucial markets for Pepe Jeans and Kapoor will be instrumental in growing the existing businesses aligned with the broader global strategy.
Kapoor joined Pepe Jeans India in 2014 and was promoted to the role of sales director within a span of two years. Owing to his strategic contribution towards the growth of the brand in the Indian market, he was elevated to chief business officer in April 2019 and subsequently appointed as CEO in September 2019.
“Under Kapoor’s leadership, Pepe Jeans India strengthened its balance sheet position by strategic reduction of inventory and debtors along with substantial reduction of debt. His effective leadership has enabled the company to successfully generate free operating cash during this difficult period,” said the brand in a statement. “E-com contribution for the brand accelerated from 8 per cent in 2019 to 28 per cent this fiscal year, reflecting the benefit of leveraging omnichannel initiatives,” it added.
In 2021, Kapoor was recognised as The Economic Times Inspiring CEO for his efforts in helping steer Pepe Jeans to great heights even during unprecedented times of the Covid 19 aftermath. In the same year, he was also acknowledged for his efforts towards sustaining a high-trust high-performance culture by Great Place to Work – India’s best Leaders in Times of Crisis 2021.
“I am delighted to lead Pepe Jeans India into the next phase of growth and continue on the digital and consumer-focused transformation journey that we started 18 months ago,” said Manish Kapoor on his appointment.
Kapoor is a strategist and implementer with demonstrated abilities in accomplishing business growth on a consistent basis. He has previously held key leadership roles in brands such as French Connection, Sisley, Benetton India, Pantaloons and Madura Garments to name a few.
He acquired a B-tech degree from the Technological Institute of Textiles and Science in 2000 and further continued to pursue a diploma degree in apparel marketing and merchandising management from NIFT in 2002. He was awarded the gold medal for academic excellence at NIFT and was an all-India topper in his PGDAMMM course across all NIFT centers.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
